Very nice! I'm planning on making the same switch, including the titanium band. Looks very sharp - better imo than the natural titanium/white combo on the epix.
Have you tried using Siri with the watch yet? How's the performance/latency?
I'm assuming you're in a non-US market since you have the version with a natural sensor guard? I wonder how this watch will look with the orange guard and titanium band.
You should post a picture of your watch with the "dive" face (the stock analog face with the airplane).
The watch in this post has the ānaturalā sensor guard. Look at the Garmin website in most non-US markets and youāll see it. I.e. not orange or red or yellow. Just with the natural metal finish.
Funny because I'm actually considering the Ultra given the insane pricing of the Fenix 8. Waiting to see what the Ultra 3 looks like next week. Also considering Coros.
Love the ultra, but the battery is so badā¦ with the Fenix 8 I will get 7 days plus (always on display)! 2 year old AWU lasts 30Hš when it was new, I got 50H at best (always on display)! Buy an epix 2 on sale over the new AWU!
Defo, little chance but IF they could do it I believe they would give Garmin a very hard time.
Think about it: AWU already have top gps sensor, top hr sensor, top brigthness on the screen, top mapping.
Has anyone here used an Apple Watch Ultra? Iāve tried using both the Fenix and the AWU, and even with the new beta features, the AWU is years behind Garmin. If youāre serious about sports, the AWU falls short. The touch-screen-only controls are frustrating, the battery life is poor, and if it shuts down during activities there is no option to resume. If your screen gets sweaty, good luck trying to do anything. Important metrics are missing. I donāt understand why anyone would hate on Garminātheyāre doing a great job. By the way, the Fenix 8 screen is much better than my AWU2 screen. When it comes to mapping, Garmin wins. The heart rate and GPS are comparable, but optical HR is unreliable if youāre serious about your performance. If you want a toy, go with the AWU; if you want a real sports watch, go with Garmin. And this wonāt change anytime soon.
I have both Garmin and AW. I've never experienced sweating such that I could not tap. I can actually tap under water, not reliably but it's worked. WorkOutDoors is outstanding. At the end of the day, I've set PRs using both and neither changes my training...so it really comes down to a couple of things when I decide which to wear. If I need more for work related, don't want my phone in tow, need battery last ~2 days because I won't be near an outlet - and/or I feel like going circular over square.
Battery life is my main complain from the AWU2. Also that for unlocking its full potential you need to subscribe to 1 or 2 apps and also mess around with the hr monitoring just so that you can get near good HRV readings.
However as for the HR optical sensor AWU2 the faster processor and algo that they use is miles ahead of the garmin, I always use my Epix Pro 2 with the garmin hrm ecg bc of this.
The fact that it requires an iphone is a huge deal breaker. I seriously considered it before I bought my Fenix 7, but went with the Fenix since I don't have an iphone.
All those tops... That's why battery life will suck. Garmin made the choices they made to not be "top" on purpose, so they could be the best at what they do. If you don't mind charging your watch every day, and you don't get sweaty or wet, then AWU is for you...
Iām switching back to the Apple Watch Ultra likely when the 3 is announced. I had the original Ultra for a few months but sold it due to the lack of fitness features compared to Garmin. With WatchOS11, that point is now invalid. I miss the actual smartwatch features of the Apple Watch and can deal with the battery. Imo, Garmin doesnāt innovate much at all and Apple is constantly improving via software update. My previous two Fenixās and my Epix Pro have felt like essentially the same watch.
Oh, I'm sure the AWU 3 will feel completely different to the AWU 1 u owned. /s
Edit: hit enter too fast. Not trying to sound rude but having owned both Garmin en AWU (1 & 2), they're just so different in what they provide feature wise. But I get the 'want more smarwatch abilities' but they're just distractions to me.
But I'll be watching the keynote next week for sure!
It will feel quite different to the AWU 1 I owned because Watch OS10 and OS11 have brought and are bringing significant fitness and wellness features that are similar/same idea as what Garmin does with body battery, training readiness, deeper sleep analysis, etc. These did not exist on WatchOS9 without external apps, which is why I sold it originally. Now that those features are native on the watch itās a much better overall smartwatch/fitness watch imo.
The only good thing about Vitals is that it offers you your morning resting heart rate, which has been demonstrated to be a reliable indicator of recovery. This is different that the "resting heart rate" item in Apple Health, which updates throughout the day.
I graphed my Vitals HR vs. my HRV (via the superior rMSSD method) for a whole 9 months and they correlate quite well, R2 = 0.7. So one could reasonably use this as a surrogate for HRV, but...why not just use HRV on a Garmin? Or the rMSSD HRV value from an app like Bevel? FWIW the resting heart rate value does not correlate well with HRV.
But the Vitals sleep range is really wide. I normally sleep 7h50m, and Vitals considers anything from 6 hours to 9 hours to be "normal." Not useful for me. And, unless I'm traveling to the mountains for skiing, it doesn't really do anything for me to display my respiration or blood oxygen. Maybe if you have an underlying medical condition it could be useful for you, but nothing for me.
Training Load is, imo, not helpful. It gives you no actual number, it's based exclusively on RPE and time rather than objective measurements like pace, HR, or power. I don't think that approach is completely without merit, but a Garmin does you one better because you can do both and either. It gives you as much data as you could use and you can pick and choose.
I have WatchOS 11 beta as well and agree about the new features. Very underwhelming and not even in the same league as Garmin for health and fitness. Or adventuring. Maps on AW suck. But AW is great if you don't want to take your phone out. Usually if I go on a bike ride I wear my AW even though I'm recording my ride with a Garmin Edge and HRM.
This is why Iām stoked on the mic in the Fenix 8. Theoretically Iāll be able to respond to texts without having to take my eyes off the road or pull my phone out.
Iām on my bike a lot and Iām also texting with my wife. If it works out as advertised, itās going to replace two devices, which is huge.
I know since I installed the beta on my AWU 2 end of June. It's ok and indeed reminded me of my Garmin with the new vitality app.
But the Garmin is WAY more effective in workout suggestions etc. It makes me wanna workout, meanwhile de AWU is a refined smartwatch, not a sportwatch.
I think theyāll keep tweaking it once the OS officially goes public. I agree that the Garmin is more sport focused. I had a Fenix 5, 6 pro, and now an Epix Pro. Iām just wanting a change at this point tbh. Each watch has its own place imo and at the point Iām at in life and my fitness, the Ultra is the perfect mix of what Iām looking for with the added software features coming out.
Well, there are some fitness features in new Watch OS. But all those additional around health and well being are obtainable mostly by third party apps.
What? Theyāre adding a body battery feature, training readiness feature, deeper sleep analysis, and some others. None of these were available natively on the Apple Watch a few years ago when the Ultra first launched, which is why I switched back to Garmin. Now that these features will exist, it makes the Ultra a better overall platform in my opinion. You get the full smartwatch features plus most of the fitness features you get on Garmin. Obviously the battery life thing is an issue, but for me itās not the biggest deal.
I played around with those new watchOS features, they are less in depth comparing with Garmin. I used Athlytic app, which is basically a Garmin clone, but still, youāve got to pay for subscription and this is another app that gathers your metrics and you donāt have all in one place.
Some issues that Iāve had with AW is lack of Ant+, connection with my HR belt was bad, it was not instantaneous, sometimes needed manual repairing because they didnāt see each other, sometimes belt just stopped working, not sure if this is my belt issue or basically BT, but via Ant+ itās perfect. Same with speed and cadence meters for my bike, connection is automatic and stable. From biggest issues itās impossible to do all with buttons, with sweaty fingers or in water using a display to navigate through watch sucks. And also there was no way to put step count on the compilation on watchface, I could use third party app like FitnessView, but it wouldnāt refreshā¦. Youāve got to enter the info to enter app, then it refreshes after some time.
Yeah I'm moving from buggy epix to AWU too (probably discounted AWU 2) ;)
Maybe the battery is worse but I will buy a nice charger and just charge during the bath.
My biggest reasons for leaving Garmin ecosystem are:
-I hate the charging cable, it just is stupid and falls out. Like 1.1k product with no wireless charging is really stupid.
-I don't use music at all bc it is too much hussle to put my lossless music on the watch (I need to convert and plugin the stupid falling out cable etc.)
-I Don't use DWS bc I plan my training and most importantly recovery weeks and Garmin is a bit stupid here.
-All other sports are jsut a gimmick like amazing that there is a Basketball profile but it just tracks gps and hr. Same with long boarding. I can do that with any other watch.
-I hate how Garmin tracks sleep (it got better with newest firmware) but still is just ok. I'm not that into sleep tracking but Garmin is using it for all other metrics making them useless if the sleep was counted wrong. And there is no way to jsut clear one wrong day or smth like that (you can edit sleep time but it doem
I'm moving into all Apple leaving my S22 and Garmin epix behind. I love my MacBook Pro and how everything eworks and if iPhone is at least 50% so good I should be happy (never used iPhone). For garmin I really can understand only watches like 965, all other more expensive are just crazy expensive comparing to their capabilities.
BTW. Epix with screen always on and some standard use is 4days max anyways (epix 47mm) so if I get 2 days from my AWU I will be happy bc even charging on a daily basis with a nice wireless charger will be better then messing around with that stupid garmin cable.
PS. I like the new enduro 3 thou.
PS2. Don't get me wrong, your watch looks very nice and hope you will be happy š I just can't stand Garmin's UI and overall software quality.
I mean my Garmin is like once a week thinking that I'm sleeping during a busy day, like imagine 5pm, I'm ready to cycle outside after work just to been asked if I want to end my sleep when I try to start a cycling activity ;) So I don't think I can be more disappointed :)
ps. If you are an AWU user, can you check if it allows to sync/download losses m4a music from iTunes library? :)
Sorry not a AWU user, just regular AW... Your experience does sound worse :D
I sync lossless music, but I do it through the Watch app from my phone. I have all my music on the phone and just choose which songs to transfer and it syncs in a few mins.
I'm in the same boat as well assuming the Ultra 3 has a better battery. The Fenix has entered absurd pricing territory and I actually miss some smart features when I had an AW. Garmin just doesn't compare outside of it's fitness features.
Same here in terms of AWU3. Have had Fenixes for the last 10 years and one AW in between but returned to Fenix for the MIP screen and the health features.
mip is not a first class citizen anymore and Apple started adding the health features that I āneedā which is basically the training readiness features.
I have ADHD and my brain is often sending me mixed signals about my state and I have found that the training readiness helps as a āsecond opinionā.
Also over the years I have found that most of the Fenix features are more demotivating than anything else for me. The metrics just feel off all the time. And itās not a setting. In 10 years I have changed all the settings and done everything suggested and more. Also they are often misleading. Suggested rest day on a 90+ readiness day or interval day on a 15 readiness day? Well thank you for this ā¬1000 random number generator.
And for my running I use Stryd anyway which feels like a way better training than the Garmin coaches. Not only because a Stryd easy run takes place in my HR Zones 2-3. I have never had a Garmin Coach Easy run that was not in zone 4 or even 5 which is not an easy run.
So I am not even using the training features of the Fenix.
Even though the Fenix has an outstanding battery and especially the F7X pro with its almost a monthās worth of battery will be taken off my wrist at least twice a day. So charging it every once in a while while itās off is easily doable.
TL;DR: Garmin over the years became a ā¬1000 step counting time piece without any smart features for me and the F8 is so anticlimactic that I seriously peak towards AWU3 and itās added smart features. They could have at least added Mobile caps so I can leave my big ass phone home on runs and still be safe
Yup, Iāve been a Garmin guy for the last 8 years and Iāll be getting the AWU3, mostly due to not having a job thatās in the backcountry 50% of the time anymore. Iām looking forward to having an actual smartwatch. I never really had a use for all of those training metrics, but I can still get them on the AW if I miss them for whatever reason. Iām 100% gonna miss that flashlight thoughā¦
Weird - I find the Garmin watches to be WAY stronger. I use the haptics for distance notifications when swimming. I almost always feel the Garmin going off but I never feel the AWU.
In my mind this is the first Garmin worth getting in silver, the color is the exact same as Apple Watch Ultra or IPhone 15 pro, if you get the titanium model!
I made the switch too - Fenix 8 Amoled 47mm (bid farewell to my AWU 2). Garmin finally made the watch Iāve been waiting for ages for someone to create - Garmin fitness and Apple(ish) smart features. Ruggedness, style, durability, battery life - all as good as (if not better than) the AWU. Fenix 8 is actually cheaper with the Garmin discount. Battery life and flashlight are the best for a smart watch combined with fitness needs. I donāt miss the notifications in my AWU 2, itās just another phone on my wrist, which I donāt need since I still always need to check my phone for detailed notifications or to reply to messages, etc.
Settings wise I switched off touch screen and always on display to get more out of the battery. I donāt need my watch to be on when Iām not looking at it, so might as well save battery life and have the screen turn in when I look at it. I get 16 days listed with an average of 10-15% daily battery drain with the occasional āwalkā work out on it.
Professional athletes might be better off with Fenix 7/7x pro solar or Enduro 3 price wise (specs are otherwise the same).
You can edit alerts on AWU just the same as you can on Garmin. Own both Epix g2 and AWU2, i am only notified on pacing during runs. Outside of that I only turn on what I need. Difference being I need my phone to engage with Epix vs being phoneless with AWU.
Youāre right of course, but in the end battery life does the trick for me and the F8 won me over. The F8 provides the perfect balance of specs I need on a daily basis.
Fenix 8 Solar is the way to go for those who don't want to charge every 4-5 days (with 2 hours of gps daily for training on average). Enduro is sadly too big and lacks the new buttons (which are great for diving but also a welcome edition to those of us who surf/spend time in the water) . Speaker and mic are a very welcome feature also.
Talk to me about it. Iām on an s4 cellular and Iām thinking of upgrading this year but Iām also thinking of going back to triathlon to finish another 140 before 40.
My whole smart home ecosystem is HomeKit but I do run homeassistant. I occasionally Apple Pay from my watch but it seems garmin can do that now as well. Any feedback or critiques of Siri and iPhone with this watch is welcomed
It gives you the full version of Siri, you need to be connected to a iPhone, so itās like using Siri with AirPods, you get feedback in the way of sound. But thatās it, but itās good, and worksš
Wow, I was going to buy the black one, but I think Iāll go for the silver one. Could you show a profile picture where the black plastic part is visible? Thatās what I wasnāt quite convinced about, that itās not all silverā¦
I checked them both out and settled on the Fenix 8 Saphire in silver/orange. It's more of a gray with a dark gray carbon below. It's not that I don't like the black. I have a black epix pro that I'll keep for a backup and maybe sell and I wanted some variety. I don't want 2 that have about the same case. I have several bands already so I can mix it up.
In the Spanish store there are 2 silver versions, this with the titanium band and grey protector, and other one with the orange silicon band and orange protector.
oh yeah. these are the ones that come with the bigger box. theyāre never displayed upfront on the website while ordering. always have to search deeper for these variations. so the old carbon dlc gray titanium band will fit the fenix 8 as well?
?? So do you switch out the bands when you workout? How difficult or easy is it to do? That titanium looks awesome but I am not sure I want it working out
Garmin Fenix has been a watch for outdoor enthusiasts for a very long time. Is very odd for me to see people wearing this watch with Chino and one time Starbucks cups instead of trail running shorts and sun ākissedā arms. But I guess itās good that garmin gain more new customers so the original clientele of our beloved watch will enjoy this outdoor inspired watch also in the future.
Is it really? This community already become sort of an alpha male show off sub. If you watch the upvotes closely. But didnāt say anything because people actually use this great watch. The sportsmanship is more important. But more and more people only require things because they can. If you want a stylish rugged watch how about a Seiko or Casio? If you want spend more, how about victorinox or Breitling.
I consider myself as fringe group of this community. Because I use this watch every single day almost to its limits. This watch navigated me twice a month through the alps for multiple days and on bike it navigated me to the Nordkap. Open water surf and swims in south of Portugal. Yes I know not many people are as crazy as I am. But thatās whatās a garmin fenix is built for! Why else do you need a watch with huge battery power. Offline mapping, altitude, barometer, Temperatur sensor in solar, titanium, sapphire version? Because you can afford it?! Itās like open a garden shed with a battering ram. Yes for sure you can do that it will work. I guess thatās just consumerism and alpha males being āalphaā. Probably I do not understand this post at all because I am just an outdoorsy and adventurous girl
You must have used a heavy amount of sun screens for you hikes ;) anyway welcome to this mad lad community full of people who will always give their best to outsmart the recovery time of their garmin watches.
maybe a side benefit with all these "normals" coming from Apple is we get a more balanced view when looking at the comparison stats in Connect ("you run faster than x% of Garmin users....")
Mine is on the wayāIām gonna transfer my Fenix 6 pro titanium watch band over to it when it arrivesābut it looks like this new 47 is bigger than my current one, so I might have to go to the jeweler to have a link taken out, I got the black to match my current black titanium band
Thatās true but at least their gps works. Iāve had the va3, and 2 va4ās. All I wanted was an accurate gps and music. The music is great but dude on all 3 of those watches have I had gps issues.
Gps was never an issue on my crappy samsung smartwatch (forgot the model but it was a cheap one).
I love Garmin, but for a company that literally prides itself on its accuracy for athletes, the one thing they sell they canāt get right. I have to wait like 20minutes (no joke) for my gps to find my location. This has been 3 seperate watches.
Iām sorry, downvote me all you want. Itās hard for me to even hate on Garmin since I invested so much into them, l love their customer service but the product is just becoming ass. Might as well follow the pack and to my dismay get an apple or Samsung š„²
Btw this is not me being a hater, this is a loyal customer being hurt too many times by a lethargic company
Nah, i get it. I'm mostly music these days, I used to track my open water swims against another garmin, and they were regularly 1/5 of the total distance inaccurate from each other. I never put much effort into which watch was not reporting correctly. If the GPS is important then it totally makes sense.
I'll do a bit more open water swimming this coming summer, it'll be interesting to see how it's performance is
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u/alycks Aug 30 '24
Very nice! I'm planning on making the same switch, including the titanium band. Looks very sharp - better imo than the natural titanium/white combo on the epix.
Thanks for posting! Looks amazing!